| Sipah-e-Sahaba | |
|---|---|
| سپاہِ صحابہ | |
 | |
| Founders | Haq Nawaz Jhangvi X Isar ul Haq Qasmi X Zia ur Rehman Farooqi X Azam Tariq X |
| Political leader | Muhammad Ahmed Ludhianvi Ali Sher Haideri X |
| President | Awrangzib Faruqi |
| Dates of operation | 1989-2018 |
| Split from | Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F) |
| Split to | Lashkar-e-Jhangvi |
| Active regions | Pakistan |
| Ideology | |
| Status | Banned in Pakistan[1] (Active until 2018) |
| Organization(s) | Pakistan Rah-e-Haq Party |
| Colors | Black,White,Red,green |
| Part ofa series on the |
| Deobandi movement |
|---|
 |
| Ideology and influences |
| Founders and key figures |
|
| Notable institutions |
| Centres (markaz) of Tablighi Jamaat |
| Associated organizations |
| Deobandi jihadism |
| Deobandi jihadism: |
TheSipah-e-Sahaba (SS),[a] also known as theMillat-e-Islamiyya (MI),[b] was a bannedSunni IslamistDeobandi organisation inPakistan.[1] Founded by Pakistani clericHaq Nawaz Jhangvi in 1989 after breaking away from Sunni Deobandi partyJamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F), it was based inJhang, Punjab, but had offices in all of Pakistan's provinces and territories.[2][3] It operated as a federal and provincial political party until it was banned and outlawed as a terrorist organization by Pakistani presidentPervez Musharraf in 2002. Even though it has been banned by the Pakistani government on numerous occasions, the Sipah-e-Sahaba has continued to operate under a different name throughout the country;[4][5] it has significant underground support inPunjab andKhyber Pakhtunkhwa. The organization was also banned by theUnited Kingdom, where there is a significantPakistani diaspora population, in 2001.[6]
On 26 June 2018, before that year's election, the Pakistani government lifted a 2012 ban on the Sipah-e-Sahaba and removed the terrorist designation for certain Sipah-e-Sahaba officials.[7][8][9]
The organization's current political front is thePakistan Rah-e-Haq Party, under which they contested the2018 general election and the2020 Gilgit–Baltistan Assembly election.[10]
Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan was formed in 1985 byHaq Nawaz Jhangvi,Zia ur rehman farooqi,Isar-ul-Haq Qasmi,Azam Tariq andMuhammad ishaq tounsvi (Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan)|Azam Tariq]] in 1985 originally asAnjuman Sipah-e-Sahaba inJhang, Pakistan.[5][11][12][1] The original purpose was to fight Shi'ite landlords dominance in Jhang and surrounding areas in a majority Sunni population.[11] Later, they became violent and started to attack Shi'ite Muslims.[11] From 1980s, they are involved in various terrorist activities and murder of thousands of Shi'ites. They are operating all over Pakistan and are politically active having large vote bank inPunjab andKhyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).[11] They are widely organized and have more than five hundred offices throughout country.[11][1]
In 1996, many left the group and formed another organizationLashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ).[11]
In 2002,Pervez Musharraf government declared the group as terrorist organization and was banned.[11] However, later, they renamed it and launched it under the name ofMillat-e-Islamia Pakistan.[11][1] They were again banned in 2003.[11] After the death ofAzam Tariq,Muhammad Ahmed Ludhianvi was selected as the president.[citation needed] Later, in 2003, they changed their name to Ahle Sunnat wal Jamaat.[1] (At least as of 2014 it was still using ASWJ.)[13][14]
A leader of Sipah-e-Sahaba was a minister in the coalition Government inPunjab in 1993 and the group has held seats in thePakistan National Assembly.[3][5]
WhenJhangvi was assassinated in 1990 by presumed Shi'a militants,Zia ur Rehman Farooqi assumed leadership of the group.Zia ur Rehman Farooqi died in a bomb explosion on 19 January 1997 at theLahore Session Court.[5] After his death,Azam Tariq led the group until October 2003, when he was also killed in an attack widely attributed to the militant Shi'a organizationSipah-e-Muhammad, along with four others.[3][5]
Its leader (sarparast-aala), Ali Sher Haideri, was killed in an ambush in 2009.[15] ThenMuhammad Ahmed Ludhianvi was selected as sarparast-e-aala withAwrangzib Faruqi as the president of the organization.[16][17] Faruqi is taking part in the2024 Pakistani general election onNA-230.[18]
The SSP is driven by a rigid interpretation ofDeobandi Islam that considers Shias and non-Deobandi Sunnis heretical. "If Islam is to be established in Pakistan," SSP leaderAzam Tariq once said, "then Shias must be declared infidels.[1]
(From 1985 to 2012)
According to Stanford University "Mapping Militant Organizations writing as of February 2012, the "primary methods" of Sipah-e-Sahaba
are targeted killings of prominent Shias – including political activists, doctors, businessmen and intellectuals .[19] In addition to targeting Shias, the SSP has also been implicated in attacks on members of the Ahmadi sect and followers of the Barelvi school of Sunni Islam. The SSP's actions have spurred a cycle of violence and assassinations and several of its leaders have been killed – including Haq Nawaz Jhangvi in 1990, Isar ul-Qasmi in 1991, Zia ul-Rehman Farooqi in 1997, and Azam Tariq in 2003.[1]
Its regular publications include the monthliesKhilafat-e-Rashida,Aab-e-Hayat andGenius.[20]
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